Fresh Hare
Fresh Hare is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, written by Michael Maltese, and produced by Leon Schlesinger. It was released to theatres on August 22, 1942. The title is a typical WB pun (as in "fresh air") that has little or nothing to do with the plot, other than being set in the crisp, frigid air of a Canadian winter. Plot Elmer Fudd is trying to catch the "wanted" Bugs Bunny. Bugs locks Elmer to the bomb that Elmer was trying to get Bugs in. It explodes while Bugs pretends to look for the keys. Elmer gets mad but Bugs fools him as being the guard, while Elmer's clothes then are removed, even his underwear. Bugs then pretends to be Elmer's gun, making noises, as Fudd never noticed. A chase through the snow then happens, including a part where Bugs' ears split by a tree, but Elmer hits it. Bugs then talks to a snowman that is supposed to be Fudd, when he finishes making his fist, he turns around and strikes Elmer. The chase continues through the snow, forth and back, until Bugs makes a painting of himself on a rock, and Elmer hits the rock. Elmer then cries in disgrace and Bugs lets Elmer take him in. In the end, they sing "Camptown Races", see Censorship below. Transcript For a complete transcript, go here. Censorship The end of this cartoon where Bugs proclaims his last wish in a chorus of "I Wish I Were in Dixie", which is followed by Bugs, Elmer Fudd and the Mounties all in blackface singing "Camptown Races" has been edited on nearly every American airing, including versions shown on the Ted Turner-owned networks (CN, Boomerang, TBS, and TNT). TNT edited the end by irising out after Bugs sings the first line of "I Wish I Was in Dixie" while TBS replaced the visual of Bugs, Elmer, and the Mounties in blackface with a repeat of Bugs dancing while the audio played as normal.http://www.intanibase.com/gac/looneytunes/censored-e-f.aspx Some edited versions even go as far as to delete the entire ending sequence and end the short after Bugs handcuffs himself to Elmer and says, "Okay, doc. Let's go." TNT removed the entire segment of the camptown song. So after Bugs, said "I wish I was in Dixie, the cartoon abruptly ended.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uAspO-VNos Availability *VHS - Cartoon Moviestars: Bugs VS Elmer (Uncut, with blue borders) *VHS - Here Comes Bugs (Uncut, same as for Bugs VS Elmer VHS) *Laserdisc - The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, (Uncut, same as for Here Comes Bugs and Bugs VS Elmer VHS) *Unauthorized public domain bootleg tapes and DVD of varying quality (mostly poor); some (particularly under the title "Cartoon Explosion") censor the minstrel show ending. *DVD - Captain of the Clouds ''(USA 1995 dubbed version) In Other Media A scene of ''Fresh Hare can be seen in the title sequence gag of the Futurama episode I Second That Emotion. Gallery 156.jpg|Lobby Card Fresh Hare.JPG|Screen capture from the censored ending. External links * *[http://www.bcdb.com/bcdb/cartoon.cgi?film=605&cartoon=Fresh%20Hare Fresh Hare in the Big Cartoon Database] References Category:1942 Category:Merrie Melodies Shorts Category:Public domain films Category:Cartoons directed by Friz Freleng Category:Shorts Category:Elmer Fudd Cartoons Category:Bugs Bunny Cartoons Category:Cartoons written by Michael Maltese Category:Cartoons animated by Manuel Perez Category:Cartoons with music by Carl W. Stalling Category:Cartoons animated by Richard Bickenbach Category:Cartoons animated by Gerry Chiniquy Category:Cartoons animated by Phil Monroe Category:Cartoons animated by Gil Turner Category:Cartoons with layouts by Owen Fitzgerald Category:Cartoons with orchestrations by Milt Franklyn Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Mel Blanc Category:Cartoons with characters voiced by Arthur Q. Bryan Category:Cartoons with film editing by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons with sound effects edited by Treg Brown Category:Cartoons produced by Leon Schlesinger Category:Cartoons in a.a.p. package